(Reuters) – Verisk beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue on Wednesday, driven by higher demand for its data analytics products primarily used by property and casualty (P&C) insurers to assess policy risks.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
P&C insurers have been facing higher losses due to claims triggered by extreme weather events around the world, prompting them to use analytics that help evaluate underwriting risks.
This has boosted demand for the services provided by companies such as Verisk in the recent quarters.
Analysts in October said Hurricane Milton could cause losses of up to $100 billion for the global insurance industry.
Meanwhile, auto insurer Progressive Corp said it expects its vehicle business to incur catastrophe losses of nearly $325 million in October due to the hurricane.
CONTEXT
New Jersey-based Verisk offers predictive analytics and decision support solutions to clients in various fields, including rating, underwriting, claims, catastrophe and weather risk, among others.
The company’s products largely cater to P&C insurers in the United States across personal and commercial lines of business, which account for a substantial portion of its revenue.
BY THE NUMBERS
Verisk’s consolidated third-quarter revenue rose 7% to $725 million from a year earlier, beating analysts’ average estimate of $722 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company earned $1.67 per share on an adjusted basis in the three months ended Sept. 30, up from $1.52 a year ago.
Underwriting revenue increased 6.7% to $507 million in the third quarter, while claims revenue climbed 7.9% as demand for its anti-fraud and property estimating solutions grew.
MARKET REACTION
Verisk’s shares were up 2.22% in premarket trading on Wednesday.
The data analytics firm’s stocks have risen nearly 10.3% this year, compared with a 22.29% gain in the benchmark S&P 500 index.
(Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
